Celebrity Gossip With Commentary

October 24th, 2013

Toei Animation is producing Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, Marvel's first television anime series for Japanese boys, for Walt Disney Japan to air throughout Japan next spring. Bandai is responsible for turning the characters into merchandising. The series is aimed at male boys ages 6-12.

In the anime, portable capturing devices known as "Disks" were developed to capture evil villains. However, thanks to Loki's machinations, both villains and heroes are sealed up in these Disks and scattered around the world. Amid the chaos, five youths obtained the power to restore these Disks-sealed heroes through a program called "Biocode." These youths received five Disks that Spider-Man, who narrowly escaped being sealed himself, retrieved. Thus, these five can restore Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and Wasp — the Avengers!

Walt Disney Japan has developed local anime content for the Japanese market in the past — notably the Fireball television anime and the Stitch! television anime in 2008. The two television anime have inspired prequels and sequels.

Marvel also collaborated with the anime studio MADHOUSE to create four television anime — Iron Man, Wolverine, X-Men, and Blade — before its acquisition by Disney. There has since been an Iron Man: Rise of Technovore video project. Toei also collaborated with Marvel on the 1978-79 live-action special-effects (tokusatsu) version of Spider-Man. Kodansha published Ryoichi Ikegami's manga re-imagining of Spider-Man in Monthly Shonen Magazine, while Marvel itself created the Mangaverse comic project.

"X Factor's" newest judge Paulina Rubio is no stranger to the spotlight. She's an international superstar and grew up with a very famous mother! She talks about how her childhood prepared her for a career in the entertainment business. Then, Paulina reveals if there's any drama behind the scenes with the other judges and how Simon Cowell is preparing to become a dad!

If writer, producer and director Sam Raimi’s future schedule seems to be looking a big sparse at the moment, it might have something to do with the fact that he’s currently working to fulfil the dreams of horror fans by working on the script for a sequel to his 1992 comedic fantasy-horror Army of Darkness, which could well be his next directing project.

Featuring a great blend of slapstick comedy, an army of deadites and some endlessly quotable one-liners, Army of Darkness was the third film starring Bruce Campbell as Ashley “Ash” J. Williams, and was also the last in the Evil Dead franchise up until this year, when Raimi produced a remake of the original movie in the series, The Evil Dead, which was directed by Fede Alvarez.

Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston arrive at the premiere of their new film Thor: The Dark World at Le Grand Rex on Wednesday (October 23) in Paris, France.The 32-year-old actress stunned in a Dior dress, and was joined on the red carpet by her hubby Benjamin Millepied.

Earlier in the day, Natalie and her adorable son Aleph, 2, were spotted arriving on a flight at Le Bourget Airport.

Tis the season to be scared, so we’ve rated some of the scariest Disney moments we could think of to add some chills to your day. Be warned: although these ratings are completely arbitrary and totally silly, these moments are legit. Grab a blanket in case you need to cover your face out of sheer terror. Put your glass of water down so you don’t spit out said water in a moment of fright. Okay, we think you’re sufficiently prepared. Let’s get started.

When Belle is Attacked by WolvesThis scene is seriously scream-worthy. It has all the classic scary symptoms: a dark forest, ominous music, Belle is alone, and these wolves are not interested in small talk. Scream Scale Rating: AHHHHH!

It’s been 15 years since Britney Spears leaned against a locker, gazed into a camera, and mouthed those three words. In one music video, the not-that-innocent 16-year-old in pigtails shimmied in her schoolgirl uniform, fast-tracking puberty for a nation of adolescent boys and crystallizing an iconic pop-culture moment.

Since the star-making “…Baby One More Time” debuted, Spears’s career has traveled well-documented peaks and valleys, but her first music video remains one of the most influential three minutes and 57 seconds from the turn-of-the-millennium. It simultaneously crowned a pop princess and canonized a sex goddess. It was the cataclysmic collision of spitfire upstart performer, brilliant pop song, and cheeky music video. It was the explosion of the long-burning pop music fireball that is Britney Spears.

What was it like to create such a significant moment in pop culture? To find out, we called up the “…Baby One More Time” music video director himself, Nigel Dick, who not only helmed Spears’s ab-baring coming out, but three more of her most memorable videos: “Sometimes,” “(You Drive Me) Crazy,” and “Oops!…I Did it Again.”

In a candid, sprawling chat that would make any ‘90s kid giddy, we talked about whose idea it was to go for broke with that schoolgirl costume, the controversy that surrounded the video’s sexiness, what Spears was like as a not-yet-famous 16-year-old, and why what’s happened to her and her persona can be so frustrating.

Bruce Jenner was NOT invited to AT&T Park when Kanye West popped the question to Kim Kardashian ... in fact, he had no idea his step-daughter was getting engaged until AFTER the fact -- TMZ has learned.

Family sources tell us ... Bruce and Kanye have never had a "real conversation." As we previously reported Bruce was not happy when Kim hooked up with Kanye so quickly after she left Kris Humphries.

We're told Kanye is the one who planned every detail of the surprise proposal. We do not know exactly why Bruce was not invited -- whether it was because of Kanye or because of Bruce's separation from Kris.

We do know ... Bruce didn't even know Kanye was popping the question until he got a call from Kim immediately after she got engaged. We're told Bruce was Kim's first call, because Kim considers him to be her father.

Actress Mary McCormack threw straying husband Michael Morris out of their Los Angeles home Sunday night after he revealed to her that photos of him smooching younger “Smash” star Katharine McPhee were about to break online, sources exclusively tell Page Six.

Morris, who directed McPhee on NBC’s failed musical series, knew the photos were about to hit because, a source adds, he tried to buy them himself to keep them from ever being seen by the public — and thus ruining his marriage and reputation.

“Mary threw Michael out of the house on Sunday night when he told her that TMZ had the photos and that they were about to be released,” said an insider.

Meantime, McPhee, 29, and her husband, Nick Cokas, 47, have been married since 2008, but reportedly have been amicably separated for months.

A source close to former “American Idol” star McPhee said that after “Smash” was canceled, she headed from New York, where it was filmed, to LA so she could work on her fourth album, which is expected to be released next year. She apparently reunited with Morris there.

Reps for McCormack, Morris and McPhee, and Cokas did not return requests for comment.

On October 23, the We Can Survive concert at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl ended with a bang — literally. After all, Katy Perry singing “Firework” without a little pyro ain’t how she rolls — and this show was all about Perry’s prerogative.

This Is England creator Shane Meadows says the latest series of the hit TV drama will begin shooting next year.

The director revealed that his planned biopic of cyclist Tom Simpson is currently a priority, but that the long-awaited This Is England ’90 could overtake that project.

‘Tommy Simpson’s a bit further ahead because there’s a script in hand, but then we’re going to hopefully sit down with some of the key cast in January and do a bit of a Meadows impro session,’ Meadows told Digital Spy.

‘That could pull it up on the outside and make it a late winner to shoot for next year, so we’ll see what happens.‘It’s a nice pressure to have, because miracles happen in those rehearsal sessions with those amazing actors sat in a room together.

‘Something might happen there, so we’re keeping a really open mind and Channel 4 and FilmFour are happy for us to go whichever way.

‘Hopefully there’ll be an official announcement reasonably soon and we’ll get rolling. They’re both going to get made, but it depends in which order.’

The 22-year-old actress talks to BuzzFeed about her role on American Horror Story, the scene that almost made her turn it down, and how she may never escape that line about how her “vagina’s sweating.” SPOILER ALERT if you have not seen the Oct. 23 episode of American Horror Story, “The Replacements.” After three weeks of Madison Montgomery’s fur vests, sharp tongue, and bandage dresses, American Horror Story: Coven fans are likely worried that after Wednesday’s episode, titled “The Replacements,” they’ll no longer have the teen starlet turned witch-bitch’s humor to lighten the mood on the twisted FX series. But Emma Roberts, the real actress behind Madison, hinted to BuzzFeed that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of her.( Collapse )

On the heels of HBO’s announcement that “Girls” returns for its third season on Jan. 12, the network released a behind the scenes look on Friday.

In the video, creator and star Lena Dunham and other castmembers give fans a peek at what to expect when Season 3 returns. And the star discloses just how much fan tweets shape the coming of age series.

“I love watching the show and just refreshing, refreshing, refreshing Twitter,” Dunham said. “I really get to find out in real time whether we’re on to something and whether things feel real, because that has always been the intention of the show.”

It was just after 8 on Wednesday morning, and Johnny Weir looked — by his own assessment — “gorgeous.”

A tailored, double-breasted blazer with large gold crests at his cuffs showed off his tiny waist. Tight-fitting dark pants with thick tuxedo stripes made his legs look impossibly fit. His shiny brown hair looked as if it were in pin curls. In his hands he carried a big black Balenciaga purse.

He spun on his heels to show off his jacket. “Can you believe it? Vintage — $15 at a consignment store in Sun Valley!” he said. “I’m the same as always — fabulous!”

Weir’s purse could have held a pair of figure skates, but there won’t be any need for him to carry them to the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. On Wednesday morning, Weir announced that he was retiring from the sport after competing in two Olympics, winning three straight national championships and spending more than a decade in the sport’s spotlight.

His next performances will be as a figure skating analyst for NBC at the Games, an announcement that probably led some gay rights supporters to cheer. Weir is known for being outspoken, and there are those who think he would be a perfect ambassador for a gay rights cause in open conflict with a Russian law passed recently that makes it a crime to support “nontraditional” sexual orientation. Certainly Weir would speak out against what he described as a “terrible” law.

Tumblr has completely revamped its search feature to make it more user friendly and powerful. Among the updates are the ability to use multiple tags in one query, easier access to the explicit content filter and filtering by post type.

In the post announcing the search changes, Tumblr also notes that it has passed 65B total posts, making a more powerful search something nice to see. The previous version of Tumblr search was…anemic to say the least. Most of the time using a Google site operator would get you more relevant results.

The new search feature allows you to use multiple tags all in one go, letting you narrow the field to more specific cross-categories. You can search for #puppies and #wagging all at once now to find the perfect excited gif. There is also a subtle change to search that allows you to use simple queries without a hashtag to return both mentions of a term and posts tagged with that term.

Searching for ‘ponies’, for instance, will get you both posts that mention ponies and posts that are tagged with #ponies. Search results now also return blogs related to those queries.

The final update is related to the explicit content filter, which many have criticized for being buried and confusing to tweak. It’s now right on the search results page where it can be easily accessed. Tumblr also mentions that it’s tweaked its NSFW filtering to stop blocking tags that are not ‘natively’ explicit.

There was some controversy earlier this year over Tumblr not showing tags that were considered NSFW, but that weren’t by default (things like ‘gay’, ‘lesbian’ or ‘bisexual’). This release attempts to tweak those results to surface non-NSFW tags in regular searches, even with the filtering enabled. Tumblr also mentions that this was partially done to unblock tags that were filtered due to policies like those on Apple’s App Store.

The band will hit the stage one day before releasing their album Midnight Memories in November.

November is shaping up to be One Direction month. The fivesome confirmed to MTV News that they will perform at the American Music Awards.

The performance will mark the first time the guys have taken the stage at the big show, which goes live on ABC from Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on November 24 at 8 p.m. It comes just one day before they will drop their new album, Midnight Memories, on November 25.

Other confirmed performers include Miley Cyrus and country act Florida Georgia Line.

While Macklemore & Ryan Lewis lead the nominees, the 1D guys are up for two awards at the big show. Their nods include Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop/Rock (against Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Imagine Dragons) and Favorite Album - Pop/Rock (for 2012's Take Me Home against Taylor Swift's Red as well as Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience).

The same day the AMAs news was announced, their Directioners were celebrating the anniversary of the release of their second single off their massive 2012 album Take Me Home, "Little Things." Their enthusiasm for the Ed Sheeran-penned slow jam hasn't wavered in the last year.source

JFC it's already been one year since they released that flop song!? I'm excited to see them walking around the AMA stage tho

The wildcats are back! Us Weekly can exclusively confirm that the cast of Disney's High School Musical will be reuniting after five years -- and all for a great cause! The cast from the 2006 hit will reunite in December to help support social activist Monique Coleman in her nonprofit web series GimmeMo' Foundation, which helps to invest in and create programs to improve the lives of youth globally.

Fans of USA’s Suits still have six more episodes to look forward to when the show resumes its third season in early 2014 following the Olympics. But you can now add to that: The network has ordered a 16-episode fourth season. Universal Cable Productions has also signed an overall deal with the show’s creator, Aaron Korsh, to develop new series while continuing his work on the drama, which was among TV’s top five scripted shows in the 18-49 demo during its summer run.

Naomi Campbell has morphed into the First Lady of Fashion for a dramatic new spread in W magazine.

Styled by Edward Enniful and shot by Willy Vanderperre, the series takes its cues from the FLOTUS on a diplomatic mission to Ghanda. “It’s a tribute to a modern day First Lady on a state trip, evoking the kind of timeless style that could have existed in the 1940′s, 60′s, or even today,” Enninful said( Collapse )

If only Smash had been this consistently riveting onscreen. Katharine McPhee and her series director Michael Morris stole some of the spotlight away from Kim Kardashian's engagement and Prince George's christening this week when the pair were photographed making out in broad daylight in an L.A. parking lot -- in spite of their marriages to other people.

And, while Morris' actress wife of ten years Mary McCormack allegedly kicked him out of their home after finding out the news, McPhee's situation is a little different. As rumored, the actress and American Idol runner-up, 29, has been separated from producer husband Nick Cokas for at least six months, multiple sources confirm to Us Weekly.

Indeed, since she and husband of five year Cokas, 47, parted ways, McPhee "has had friends living with her for months," one insider says."She is SO embarrassed she was caught," a second source says of the undeniable photos. "She should have known better!"

In Plain Sight star McCormack and Morris share three kids together and reportedly split their time between L.A. and New Mexico. The actress, 45, "is so cool and the nicest person," the second insider adds. "It's so sad that this happened to her. She's truly great."

Deadline reports that Academy Award winning actress Octavia Spencer will star in a reboot of the long-running mystery series MURDER, SHE WROTE for NBC. Alexandra Cunningham will pen the pilot script while David Janollari produces.

The hour-long project, which currently has a pilot commitment from the peacock network, will be a re-imagining of the long-running CBS series which starred Angela Lansbury. The series is described as, "a light, contemporary procedural in the vein of Bones or Fargo, it follows a hospital administrator and amateur sleuth (Spencer) who self-publishes her first mystery novel. Set in a day where sensational headlines inundate the news, this woman's avid fascination with true crime leads her to become an active participant in the investigations"

Vod, JP, Oregon, Kingsley, Howard and Josie are joined by newcomer Candice as they head back to Manchester for their second year...

Throw on your dressing gown, crack open the nearest can of beer and toast the return of one of our favourite comedies. Yup, Fresh Meat is back on our screens for another series of wasted antics, misguided romance and some occasionally heartwarming friendship, as Vod, Oregon, JP, Kingsley and Howard return to Manchester for their second year.

But where's Josie? Her room is occupied by timid fresher Candice (played by The White Queen's Faye Marsay) but fear not, she's still in touch with the gang via iPad. Also in tow is Vod's Mexican beefcake lover, Javier. He doesn't speak a word of English but has a penchant for daytime television. Oh, and Oregon's on a one-woman crusade to save the planet. Nothing much has changed, then.

After making a Sundance splash with his awards winner Like Crazy, Drake Doremus followed it up at this year’s festival with Breathe In, a romantic drama which brought together Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce and Amy Ryan. While we were a bit lukewarm on it,the film will likely hit U.S. theaters next year and today already brings casting news for his next project, a sci-fi love story.

Scripted by Nathan Parker (Moon), we first got a glimpse of Equals during an interview this summer when Doremus said he wants to “maintain the elements of the intimacy while doing something bigger and different.” Deadline now have an update on who will be getting intimate, as Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult are in talks to lead the project.

Unfortunately there’s not a great amount of additional details, but Doremus has said there will be special effects involved and added, “I’m really excited to explore a whole new thing while bringing my own passions to it and that’s what’s exciting about collaborating with someone who’s doing something totally different to you as together you can create something very original and unique by bringing different elements to the table.” Check back for more information as it come in for what’s looking to be a major step-up in scope for the director.

0:00 - she used to close clubs down back in the day.0:19 - her signature dance - The snake (a cross between the worm and the funky chicken).0:45 - awkward dancing - bless her heart.1:19 - Being on the cover of essence (serving some stunning vintage realness).1:30 - Everyone loves her natural hair, but black women LOVE her natural hair.1:51 - Her 3 year old child, and her dreams of being an actor. She got her a role in the upcoming James Brown biopic playing one of the kids. Her daughter is as cute as kittens playing with wool in a teacup.2:55 - Enders Game.3:10 - her crush on Harrison Ford. Calling Octavia to discuss her plan to kiss Harrison Ford.4:14 - Update on the school she was raising money for.

Peter Gadiot talks Genies and romance in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland

So much of the success of Once Upon a Time is based on love and romance, so it doesn't come as a surprise that the same holds true for Once Upon a Time In Wonderland.As we head into the show's third episode tonight, Alice (Sophie Lowe) and The Knave Of Heart (Michael Socha) are busy trying to find Alice’s love, Cyrus (Peter Gadiot), who just happens to be a genie currently being held captive in a cage.We were on the Vancouver set of Wonderland recently and sat down with Gadiot to talk about Cyrus’s journey and his experience with the new series...

[true love, he&apos;s cute, mystery blah blah blah]On getting more of Cyrus’ backstory...Peter Gadiot: It's been surprising. Basically the surprise is that a lot of the information about Cyrus' back-story actually is going to be held until later in the season. It's an interesting thing. I'm not sure why but I'm sure there's a master plan. We learn more of the backstory of some of the other characters quite early in the season, but Cyrus is kept mysterious…I think he wasn't always the way we see him of being this always the pure hero type.On getting Alice and Cyrus together sooner than later...PG: That's the thing. Probably not as much as people would expect or maybe as much as they would have liked. I guess in a way it's clever enough and [we] don't spend as much time together as people want and that increases the desire for us to be reunited. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, so we're not together but it's very clear that the whole drive of the story…like Alice's every scene is about being with Cyrus. When that finally does happen, it's going to be big fun. Think about all that shit that has gone into the journeys and what we've overcome.On how genies function in Wonderland…PG: The creators very much said they were going to explore the genie mythology more. We have in terms of one aspect, but in terms of where they originally come from, we haven't got there yet. We haven't found out how Cyrus gets in the bottle yet. We are going to find out for sure, but that's been held back again for the second half of the season.It's like little bits that they've put forth but it hasn't fully expanded. I hope it will be because some of the questions are meant to ask and have answered by the genies. Where do they come from? What do they do? It's a good opportunity to create a bit more of this mythology.On whether Cyrus keeps the faith that he and Alice will be reunited…PG: Yeah, that's a good question. It fluctuates, I think is the answer. I think ultimately there is a sense of overwhelming belief in their love. However the circumstances and the forces against them are very dark and strong. I don't think he necessarily gives up hope, but he might choose, at certain stages, a path that he believes is better for Alice, a kind of self-sacrificing way.Obviously with each episode things change and they're adapting to the nougats of information that they've got, what they think might have happened to each other, and how that affects them.On working with iconic characters like Jafar and Alice…PG: Yeah, they're very different. I think what they're trying to do is very much stay away from any previous incarnation of all the characters. There are subtle hints like Jafar has the serpent's staff and things like this. In terms of how we act, Alice is very different to other Alices. Cyrus is certainly not like that genie.They very much wanted [Cyrus] to have that wisdom that comes from hundreds of years of seeing humans and their flaws but also to have him be slightly discombobulated by the new arrival of Alice. I think in the first few episodes that is his journey of being someone who has a lot of calm and poise to someone who's shaken up and confused. He almost has a new adolescence in a way, when Alice comes and there are new things. That's an interesting journey.Then, of course, when they're separated it's a new place for him to try and keep that wisdom but also this fear of losing someone he loves. It's a fine line and he crosses between the wisdom and this very humanlike fear and confusion.On whether Cyrus and Jafar have a relationship…PG: Yes. They do. It's mentioned. I definitely have spoken to Alice about Jafar. She knows about him through me. But we haven't seen the origins of their relationship yet. That again will come in the second half of the series.On getting used to working with green screen…PG: At first it's very tricky. It's a really unique skill, you know? I guess in very simple terms, a kind of thing you want to do as an actor is just to believe in yourself and in the situation you're putting yourself in. If you've got a huge green box that you're in, your mind is saying this is green. This is weird. This isn't real. What are you doing?So you have this extra thing in your mind that you have to say shut up. Forget about it. Don't look at the green. Just focus on them. It's a skill, which is definitely something that I'm improving on. A lot of the big productions now have elements of green screens. It's a good thing that I'm working on it because I'm sure at some point I'll be doing some big movie where I'll have to fight off a dragon or something. I'll be like got it.On the mystery of Cyrus…PG: I think what's important is that Cyrus doesn't try to be mysterious. He's not like ‘oh no, I'm not going to answer those questions.’ It's just the fact that we genuinely don't know about him and what's going to come. Even after episode seven [which they were shooting at the time of this set visit] we still know very little about Cyrus. I 'm hoping by the end of it, by episode 16, we will know everything. It's very much a slow burn.It also helps create that singular focus that Alice and Cyrus have, because both of them hadn't had anyone. But Alice is very much alone as well. She has this family in England but they've essentially discarded her and she's alone with her thoughts or the reality of Wonderland. Cyrus is alone and that's why they're like we found each other, now…there's a very strong connection between them, which is very pure and simple. All the shit that come in the way, the Red Queen, the Knave and Jafar, they try to get in the way.That's what's genuinely cool about this series is that other series are actually too complicated. There's just too much shit going on. This one has a very simple dynamic that we can follow and each thing we know what's going to happen. It's a benefit.Emma Rigby on the Red Queen's game

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland has introduced a new side to this fairy tale land that was originally introduced in the original Once series. While Alice and the Knave search for her love, Cyrus, the Red Queen and Jafar have their own plot to find Cyrus' bottle.

I recently visited the show's sets to speak to the cast about this magical new series. Emma Rigby spoke with reporters about her elegant and conniving character's motivations and plans in Wonderland.

We've seen other Queens in the Once Upon a Time universe, how does the Red Queen differ from them?

With my Queen, with the Red Queen, the traditional Red Queen in the Through The Looking Glass novel, Lewis Carroll envisioned her as fury, but more in a very controlled, governess manner rather than somebody that's evil and very openly a villain -- an antagonist of the series.

With that in mind, I kind of wanted to bring some humor and a real different take on the idea. It's the idea of the Red Queen. She's kind of fabulous and she's enjoying it and it's like she's living in a film. She's playing the role of the villain and enjoying it and not necessarily taking herself too seriously. So I think that's gonna hopefully translate. I want the audience to kinda of be with her and like her and enjoy her.

When Once Upon a Timepreviously visited Wonderland, viewers were introduced to the Queen of Hearts. What's the Red Queen's relationship to her?

In the series, it's not featured. The Queen of Hearts is not mentioned, so it's as if the Red Queen is now in power of Wonderland. The Queen of Hearts is nowhere to be seen. The Red Queen [rules] after the Queen of Hearts.

What's that like to play the Red Queen?

It's a brilliant role in terms of -- I would usually always get cast as the Alice character. So to be able to play a villain is a difference. And then, suddenly, I'm dressed in the most fabulous costumes literally. It's Hollywood glamour. It's my dream. Who doesn't like to dress up and wear a crown?

Why did the Red Queen turn on Cyrus and Alice in the premiere? What is her motivation?

The Red Queen is the ruler of Wonderland, so she has all the power. She's all knowing and all seeing. She is the one person that has access to Alice and Cyrus. To her, that's the beginning of the game for her and her plan. So that move isn't necessarily to kill Cyrus, it's to start the adventures of Wonderland.

What is her goal in Wonderland?

She has one distinct thing that she wants to ascertain and she's prepared to go all the way to get that. We won't find out what that is -- I don't even know what that is -- as of yet.

How evil is the Red Queen?

We want her to be the villain, the antagonist of the series. She's got to be Alice's rival otherwise Alice has nothing to fight against. And I'd say that like every person in the world that has so many different elements to them. I think that's what we're going to find with the Red Queen that there's so much to her. Yeah, she's bad and she kind of likes it. She's like, "Yeah, I can do that." Yeah, she's bad.

Who does the Red Queen interact most often in Wonderland?

A lot of my scenes are with the character of Jafar, played by Naveen Andrews, which is the most fun and most of my scenes are with him. And, I have a lot of scenes with the White Rabbit, which is obviously really interesting to do, because you're acting to a blue pole. So that's been an interesting and suddenly new learning experience.

The scenes with the Red Queen and Jafar are one of the fantastic things about the series.We have the elements of make believe and fairy tale world where we've brought Jafar into the Wonderland format and suddenly it's two characters sparking off each other. And, I think we'll get to see that there's a kind of a real partnership between the two characters.

Are they allies?

Yes, in terms of the Alice in Wonderland theme, their relationship is like a constant game of chess. And, they are always trying to outsmart and outmove the other, but they do need each other. It's quite an interesting relationship.

What is the Red Queen's relationship with Alice?

It's really interesting because you'll see throughout the series, I don't have a lot of interaction with Alice. To the Red Queen, it's a game to her. Alice is just another person in the game of what she wants to achieve. It's not necessarily a vendetta against Alice.

Alice is just an annoyance, really, and standing in her way and she's quite blase about that. That's an interesting thing as well. It's not necessarily like the Queen of Hearts which wants to destroy Alice. She's not her main concern. She has a much bigger thing to achieve.

In a surprising move Thursday, Lucasfilm announced that Oscar-winning scribe Michael Arndt was out as the screenwriter for the hugely anticipated "Star Wars Episode VII," replaced by the tag-team of Lawrence Kasdan and J.J. Abrams, who is also directing.( Collapse )

Against Me! will release its much-anticipated sixth full-length studio album titled Transgender Dysphoria Blues on Tuesday, January 21 on their own label, Total Treble (Resist Records will release in Australia). Transgender Dysphoria Blues is the intense follow-up to the band’s previous full-length album, White Crosses, and stands as another major benchmark for the band and its career spanning 10+ years.

Recorded at Studio 606, Earth Sound Studio, Motor Studio, Total Treble Studio and mixed by Billy Bush (Garbage, Muse, Tegan and Sara), Transgender Dysphoria Blues is an insightful and highly-provocative 10-song offering written by frontwoman Laura Jane Grace, whose material examines one’s grappling with gender dysphoria, the loss of a young friend and pure self discovery, as well as love and ultimate acceptance. Featuring Grace’s signature, explicit songwriting and dominant vocals, the album also features longtime guitarist/vocalist James Bowman, drummer Atom Willard and Fat Mike of NOFX on bass for “FUCKMYLIFE666” and “Unconditional Love.” Transgender Dysphoria Blues will be supported with a full North American tour in 2014. Details to be released soon.

Madonna has rid herself of her massive Beverly Hills estate ... the one she bought during her marriage to Guy Ritchie ... and she pocketed a cool $8 MILLION in the process, TMZ has learned.

Madge had only listed the property back in January for $22.5 mil ... and just 10 months later, real estate guru Kurt Rappaport closed the deal for $20 mil. Not bad considering she bought the place in 2003 for $12 mil.

Real estate sources tell us ... the lucky guy who scooped up the pad is a Wall St. big shot.

The mystery buyer is clearly a fan of privacy ... 'cause the 17,000 square foot property is incredibly secluded -- with a 500 foot tree-lined driveway ... and massive trees covering the perimeter of the estate.

The home is insane -- with 15 bathrooms, 9 bedrooms, a 2-story dining room, pool, movie theater tennis court and a gym -- 'cause as we all know, Madge LOOOVES to pump iron.

So, where's Madonna gonna live now? We're told Madge is on the hunt for a smaller place in L.A. But don't worry about her ... she's still got massive properties in London and New York.

These Hunger Games stars are giving back.Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth are doing their part to help some great causes by hosting two special charity screenings of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire before highly anticipated sequel's release on Nov. 22.

Oscar winner Lawrence, who plays the series' heroine Katniss Everdeen, has arranged for a benefit showing of Catching Fire in her native Louisville, Kentucky, to benefit the St. Mary's Center, E! News has confirmed.

According to local affiliate WHAS-TV, Lawrence suggested the Nov. 20 screening as a way to give back to her community. St. Mary's organizes training for adults with intellectual disabilities and money raised will go towards a new satellite campus.

Ariana Grande took to twitter to announce that Liz Gillies, Matt Bennett, and Nathan Kress will be reprising their roles as Jade West, Robbie Shapiro, and Freddie Benson on an upcoming 1 hour special of "Sam & Cat."

Natalie Portman has claimed that "feminism is misinterpreted" in Hollywood films because most roles for women are written by men.The Oscar-winning actress suggested that because characters are often "just a fantasy of a male writer", the women can keep up with the men in a physical sense, but they don't have fully formed personalities.

At the premiere of Thor: The Dark World in Leicester Square, she told Sky News: "I don't think that's necessarily feminist to see women like we see men in movies.

"Just having a range of different ways women can be - whether it's weak and strong, just being human and being real, and not just being some fantasy of a male writer - is more feminist than 'she knows how to do kung fu'."

The six-episode series follows a group of veterans and rookies who travel the country with their horses, compete for cash prizes and lasso a few cowboys along the way. Rodeo Girls premieres Sunday, Dec. 15 at 10/9c.

Actress Andie MacDowell will always have our hearts after starring in classic '90s movies like "Groundhog Day" and "Four Weddings And A Funeral." Like other film actresses these days she's made her way to the world of TV, starring in Hallmark Channel's "Cedar Cove."

When interviewed for Adweek about balancing her life as a mother and starring in a new TV series, MacDowell was asked about what other shows she's currently watching. While she mentioned enjoying "The Newsroom" it was when the subject turned to the Lena Dunham vehicle, "Girls" did her opinion change:

"And I watched the whole first season of 'Girls' with my daughters. I probably won’t watch the second season -- it was too immature for me -- but it was interesting," MacDowell said. "I’m going to sound like an ancient person, but I was rather shocked at what they can show on TV now!"

Maybe, if you were a hardcore rap fan, but probably not. Up to that point, Kanye West had a name mostly from his production work: the Chicago-native produced the bulk of Jay Z’s 2001 classic, The Blueprint. But he wasn’t known as a rapper: he would literally make his rapping debut a month later, appearing on Jay Z’s “The Bounce” (rapping as Ray Ray, for some reason).

But, in short, he was a nobody to most.

So when news came out that the rapper was in a serious car accident on October 23, 2002, many people just shrugged. No one knew that moment would probably end up being the most important moment of his career.

That night would be the inspiration for Kanye West’s first true big hit, “Through the Wire.”

But, what happened that night? Throughout the years, Kanye has told the story a number of times. Essentially, after finishing a late night session with Beanie Sigel, Peedi Crack and The Black Eyed Peas, Kanye left the studio in L.A., at around 3AM, in his rented Lexus. While in the car, he was cut off and he ran head-on into traffic, colliding with another car just blocks away from the W Hotel.

For the ZEISS Art Calendar 2014, Mary McCartney has captured fascinating images of New York. With her unique, expressive imagery, the famous photographer accompanies a couple who experience some very special moments together. In Manhattan they wallow in the magic of the city: they combine their own personal world with the charm of special sites and locations in the Big Apple. The protagonists are Hollywood stars Alec Baldwin and Gemma Arterton. The striking photographs by Mary McCartney – all with taken with state-of-the-art ZEISS lenses – enchant the viewer with their astounding clarity and discrete intensity. In scenes that reveal an astute eye for the special mood and atmosphere of the location, Mary McCartney shows how the couple merge with the spirit imbuing the sites of New York. They are captivated by the spell of the Metropolitan Museum and enraptured by the mind-blowing view from the dizzy heights of the Empire State Building.

Today, we can confirm something which has been sputtering through the rumor mill for the better part of a couple months now. Michael Kenneth Williams -- better known as Omar from The Wire, and Chalky from Boardwalk Empire -- will indeed appear in Inherent Vice for Paul Thomas Anderson next year, according to Deadline.

Williams' part in the film is still unknown, but with this development and the announcement of Eric Roberts' participation last week, it would appear that there is still plenty about this movie for us to be pleasantly surprised by in the weeks and months ahead. Hang in there, folks!

Pearl Jam Week continued yesterday on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon when Fleet Foxes singer Robin Pecknold came on to perform a cover of "Corduroy" at the head of a stripped-down trio consisting of two guitars and drums.

Pecknold's voice, airier than Eddie Vedder's, glides over the knots of guitars and booming beat on his version of the song, which descends into a churning breakdown before Pecknold and the other guitar player, Daniel Rossen, relocate the riff. Pearl Jam recorded "Corduroy" for their 1994 album Vitalogy, and the song reached Number 13 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Pearl Jam last week released their 10th studio album, Lightning Bolt, and Fallon is helping the band celebrate by dedicating a week to their music. On Monday, Chris Cornell and the Avett Brothers covered "Footsteps," while Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready is set to perform tonight with Dierks Bentley and the Roots. Pearl Jam will play Thursday and Friday.

Fleet Foxes' most recent album, Helplessness Blues, came out in 2011, though the band posted a photo on Facebook this past summer that could have been a hint that they've begun work on the follow-up.

WELLINGTON, NZ - Can you really go home again? Orlando Bloom is finding out as he returns to the world of Middle Earth in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug." Bloom reprises his role as the Elf with a bow, arrow and long luxurious blond hair, Legolas, that he originated in the Oscar-winning "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. And, frankly, it's not bad timing.

Given the look of his résumé over the past decade, it seems Peter Jackson would want to capitalize on the big-budget behemoths that have made him a marquee director. Instead, just the opposite is true. The "Lord of the Rings" auteur told The New Zealand Herald that more Hollywood blockbusters are not in his plans after the "Hobbit" series finishes its rollout.

Today, marks the day you can start seeing products for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and our friends from Weta Workshop have released the first of 20 brand new products you will see before the end of the year. These two items were just a couple of the many amazing things that Weta had at their booth during Comic-Con 2013. The first item is a truly elegant and finely detailed statue of the Elven King Thranduil.

New Zealand Post is bracing for Hobbit-mania of global proportions for the latest issue of stamps and coins to mark the release of the second film in The Hobbit Trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM).

lol go to the source b/c the gif is killing me but it is too big to embed

Katy Perry is one of the most bankable contemporary pop singers—"Roar," the first single from her new album Prism, became her eighth No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August. Prism is expected to sell about 300,000 copies its first week in stores. It is a dreadful album, way too concerned with preserving Perry's star than using said star to push sonically. It is also dreadful because Perry has absolutely nothing to say.

Her lyrics are rife with clichés and idioms that, like her sound, reiterate instead of inventing or even twisting for ironic wordplay. That much is clear from the titles of her songs: "Walking on Air," "Dark Horse," "By the Grace of God," "It Takes Two," and "Choose Your Battles" are but a few of Prism's offerings.

Without a shred of cleverness or wit, Perry shits out lyrics that would be groan-worthy coming from someone speaking idly on the subway. I calculated and the average time it takes her to drop a cliché on the Deluxe Edition, 16-track version of Prism song is 11.4 seconds. Katy Perry is a pop cultural parrot. She is squandering her platform. She is the most flavorless pop diva to hold such a post in immediate memory.

A woman stands in a dimly lit stairwell, her hands gently perched atop the banister, her head cocked upwards and to the left. She wears black underwear and a black strapless bra, which would make the photograph as uninteresting as pretty much every other lingerie shot except for the fact that the model is utterly enormous. Her upper arms sag down past her breasts, and her stomach falls in three distinct sections, one on top of the other. Her skin, especially below the area where her waist should be, looks more like a moonscape. And her thighs and calves are so profound that her feet appear miniscule, like dollhouse accessories.

She is one of the many women featured in Italian photographer Yossi Loloi’s Full Beauty project, a collection of photos of obese women in the nude. The work, which began in 2006, was designed to challenge our accepted notions of beauty, sex, size and the female body.

I remember fragments of the story of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau's killing in 2010 -- something about a ponytail, something about her slipping and falling, something about how this almost never ever happens because in these parks, the animals are happy and the trainers are safe.

But something wasn't right. I remember asking someone why an orca -- a highly intelligent animal -- would attack its trainer or essentially "bite the hand that feeds it."

We sometimes hear of dogs mauling other people, but in these cases we don't seem to hear about them attacking their masters. So why would America's lovable Shamu turn against us? How could our entire collective childhood memories of this delightful water park be so morbidly wrong?

I came in with these questions. I set out to understand this incident, not as an animal activist -- because I'm not one -- but as a mother who had just taken her kids to SeaWorld, and of course as a documentary filmmaker who unfortunately can't let sleeping dogs lie.

Christopher Eccleston stars in Thor: The Dark World as Dark Elf ruler Malekith the Accursed, whose villainous revenge mission forces Thor and Loki to work together in order to defend both Asgard and Earth.

When Digital Spy sat down with Eccleston and director Alan Taylor to discuss Malekith's character, the conversation took an intriguing turn as the pair joked (we think) about the quantity of Dark Elf sex scenes that had ultimately been left on the cutting room floor.

Eccleston also spoke about the development of Malekith's character, while Taylor discussed how his experience on HBO's Game of Thrones influenced his directing here.

Stelena was super cute and I don't even ship them. I totally thought Damon was going to kiss Jer when he told him about [redacted]'s death. I don't curr about Matt and I wish they'd finally kill him. omg and Steroline. Be still my shipper heart. <3333 Caroline/Elena/Bonnie killed me at the end. :(

Sex with a minotaur. Goat blood fertility spells. Patti LuPone. Episode three of American Horror Story: Coven, titled “The Replacements,” certainly was not boring. EW talked to co-creator Ryan Murphy about all the witchy details as well as what’s in store for next week’s two-part Halloween episode: [Spoiler (not The Walking Dead kind)](Zombies!!!!)

James Corden has suggested that Harry Styles could consider a career charge, adding there is "nothing he cannot do".

The One Chance star believes that his friend and One Direction member could be successful as an actor.

Speaking to Heat magazine, he said: "There is nothing Harry cannot do. Just generally, there is nothing out of the realms of possibility for him. He has that thing that is unquantifiable, like Justin Timberlake has."

Corden added that Styles had shown how versatile he was when he played Marcel in the boyband's video for 'Best Song Ever' which Corden co-created.

He said: "You just find yourself gravitating towards whatever he's doing and, yeah, he was completely brilliant in the ['Best Song Ever'] video. They all were."

Corden recently defended his film One Chance to DS, where he plays the role of Britain's Got Talent winner Paul Potts.

He said: "We're not making a film about a guy who won Britain's Got Talent, we're making a film about a boy who dreams of being an opera singer in a world in which nobody listens to opera."

Kate Bosworth has a new collection for Topshop. Actually, it's her second collection for Topshop. She's also on the November cover of Lucky magazine. Actually, it's her second time being on the cover of Lucky. However. Can you recall seeing her in any film besides Blue Crush? Which came out more than ten years ago?

A glance at her IMDB page shows that she's been working. Technically. But as a person whose friends and coworkers are pop culture obsessed, I can't think of single soul who would claim to care about, be a fan of, or be even mildly interested in Kate Bosworth.

Amy Poehler appeared on The Ellen Show today-- and talked about her dislike of animals that you can't find when you're home (aka cats) and how she doesn't like being scared-- and she was paranoid the entire time that Ellen would try to scare her.

Liv and Maddie actress Dove Cameron has joined Hailee Steinfeld in comedy Barely Lethal, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

The film, which will also star Samuel L. Jackson and Jessica Alba, follows a 16-year-old (Steinfeld) trained assassin who runs away to live a normal high school life, only to discover that fitting in isn't as easy as she would have hoped.

Cameron will play Liz Larson, the Queen Bee of the high school. Steinfeld's character Meghan moves in with Liz, and they become best friends. Liz helps Meghan acclimate to school, and comes to her aid then things get tough.

Fanboys director Kyle Newman is helming the project with a script by John D'Arco. John Cheng and Brett Ratner are producing via their Rat Entertainment, along with Hopscotch Pictures’ Sukee Chew and RKO Pictures' Ted Hartley and Vanessa Coifman.

Cameron is known for playing the lead on Disney Channel's series Liv and Maddie. She has also appeared on The Mentalist and Shameless. She's repped by Abrams Artists Agency, Industry Entertainment and attorney Patti Felker.

I actually haven't seen Dove in anything, but I stumbled upon her (and her Tumblr - music on autoplay) last year when I was looking up stuff on The Mentalist, and she seems pretty cute. She's 17, btw. I also follow her Twitter; it's kind of interesting to see someone's career from being an unknown to known, and quite possibly stardom and name-recognition.

Russell Brand recently became the guest editor of a political magazine, and sat down with political journalist Jeremy Paxman. Trying to catch him out, Paxman hit Brand with a few upfront question which sent Russell onto a path of intellectual annihilation!

Actress Sarah Paulson calls 12 Years a Slave “the most accurate and true depiction of this time in our country’s history that I can think of…”

“As human being I think it’s our responsibility to take in this story,” she added.

The critically acclaimed slave epic, directed by Steve McQueen, had an impressive opening in limited theaters over the weekend, and will expand nationwide in weeks to come.

In spite of the film’s R rating (for violence, cruelty, nudity and sexuality), Paulson, who plays the evil wife of a slave master, believes adults and children should see 12 Years a Slave.

“I think everyone should see this movie,” Paulson told theGrio’s Chris Witherspoon. “As an audience member you shouldn’t just be looking for an opportunity to eat popcorn and Raisinets. This is the kind of movie that you are involved with viscerally.”

In a recent interview with VIBE, the film’s star, Chewitel Ejiofor, agreed with Paulson.

“I absolutely think that kids in school should see this movie,” Ejiofor said. “I think it’s never too late and it’s never too early to start learning and talking about human respect. I think that’s the overall message of this film.”

- Her relationship with her mom.- Her vaginal ghost and exuding energy- Being the leader of the Illuminati- Miley Cyrus/Sinead O'Connor and being a "prostitute of the music business"- The #FreeKe$ha online petition and creative control (or apparently lack thereof)

It seems that Rashida Jones rumor from last week might well have been true! The Schmoes Know are reporting that she, along with rumored Ant-Man contender Paul Rudd, are close to signing on to play Janet van Dyne and Hank Pym in Edgar Wrights's Marvel flick..

( Collapse )SourceI wish they would go with some bold casting choices for hank(or lang) and janet

While the Madeon-produced studio version is described as a haunting electronic ballad, Lady Gaga took to piano to perform a stripped down acoustic version of her new song "Gypsy" tonight at the ARTPOP listening party in Berlin. Enjoy.

Zac Efron and Lily Collins certainly seem to be enjoying each other's company.The duo continued to fuel romance rumors after being spotted together at Disneyland last night, which could simply be two pals hanging out with Mickey Mouse and the gang, except a fan caught a snapshot of the two actors holding hands while strolling through the amusement park.

So are they or aren't they?!

Well, multiple sources tell E! News that the pretty pair are dating but add that they don't know how serious their relationship is, while another source close to Collins' camp insists that the two stars are just "hanging out" and "not dating."

Bravo has picked up the keys to a new property — and it’s by the beach.

The NBCU cable network is adding to its thriving “Million Dollar Listing” franchise with “Million Dollar Listing Miami,” a luxurious, seaside edition of the reality format. Show joins the Los Angeles and New York iterations of the real estate show on Bravo’s lineup, and will hail from World of Wonder Prods., the shingle behind the entire “Million Dollar Listing” franchise. Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell and Eric Detwiler will exec produce.

“This is an incredibly important franchise for us,” said Shari Levine, Bravo’s senior veep of current production and original programming. “‘Million Dollar Listing’ has enormous numbers of viewers…it’s at 1.3 million total for ‘Million Dollar Listing New York,’ and ‘Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles’ will beat that.”

News of the “Miami” series pickup follows Bravo’s announcement of its strongest third quarter ratings in network history, buoyed in part by “Million Dollar Listing” programs, along with “Real Housewives of New Jersey.” “Million Dollar Listing New York” was recently renewed for a third season, and “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” is expected to be renewed for a seventh season, according to sources. The franchise has been on Bravo’s lineup since 2006, and Levine notes that the program “skews evenly” across men and women.